November 23, 2015 /3BL Media/ - GBCHealth and Global Health Council announced last week the winners of the Business Action on Health Awards, bestowed annually to the world’s best corporate-supported global health programs. The awards were presented to two winning and five commended companies at Global Health Council’s Landscape Symposium held in Washington D.C and attended by over 150 representatives from the international development, global health and business sectors.

Among the most coveted of honors in the corporate social responsibility arena, the GBCHealth Business Action on Health awards are designed to celebrate success and a set a standard for excellence for private sector engagement in global health. Applications are judged by an independent panel of experts from the private, non-profit, multilateral and government arenas; this year’s panel included Jane Bertrand (Tulane University), John Monahan (Georgetown University), Steve Davis (PATH), Katie Taylor (USAID), Mphu Ramatlapeng (CHAI), Simon Bland (UNAIDS), Daryl Burnaby (GlaxoSmithKline), Joy Marini (Johnson & Johnson) and Leslie Heyer (Cycle Technologies). Since 2014, the awards program has been carried out in partnership with Global Health Council.

“We are proud to partner with Global Health Council to acknowledge the exemplary contributions to global health that this year’s award-winning and commended companies have made,” said GBCHealth President Nancy Wildfeir-Field. “Our goal is for these awards to inspire further action from the private sector as we move into the era of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

2015 Business Action on Health Award Winners:

Winner: Application of Core Business Competence – Abbott

Healthcare leader Abbott won for its Partnership to Improve Childhood Nutrition program, a 10-year old initiative co-run with its foundation, the Abbott Fund, AmeriCares and the Giao Diem Humanitarian Foundation. Administered through a network of local schools, the program provides locally-produced fortified soymilk, breakfast, vitamins and supplements to underweight children. When soymilk production is hindered during the monsoon season, Abbott’s nutritional supplement PediaSure is also distributed. The program utilizes the company and NGO partner’s nutritional expertise, educating parents, teachers and school staff about basic health and nutrition, giving them the resources and tools they need to ensure their children achieve better nutrition. To date, Abbott and the Abbott Fund have provided more than USD 3.6 million in financial grants and product donations to support the program. Since 2005, the partnership has reached more than 30,000 children, with malnutrition rates among participating children dropping below the UN MDG Target to approximately 20 percent.

Ontarget, a premier Digital Marketing Agency based in the United States, won for its work supporting nonprofit group Global Health Innovations to design and develop the HITSystem, an innovative online platform that facilitates improved communication between clinics, laboratories, and mothers to ultimately improve care for HIV-exposed infants. To date, the HITSystem has enrolled nearly 12,000 HIV-exposed infants at over 110 health facilities in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi. Pilot data has demonstrated a reduction in turn-around time from sample collection to notifying the mother of results and a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-infected infants initiated on anti-retroviral therapy.

GBCHealth and Global Health Council also commended the following companies for their strong programs.

Additional information on Business Action on Health Awards can be found on the GBCHealth website.

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About GBCHealth

GBCHealth is dedicated to leveraging the resources and expertise of the private sector to meet today’s most pressing health challenges. Founded in 2001, under the leadership of Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, GBCHealth has built a strong track record of mobilizing business action to address workplace and community health issues. Today, the organization works with a network of more than 300 companies internationally to catalyze sustainable investments in global health. For more information on GBCHealth, please visit www.gbchealth.org.

About Global Health Council

Established in 1972, Global Health Council (GHC) is the leading membership organization supporting and connecting advocates, implementers and stakeholders around global health priorities worldwide. The organization is the collaborative voice of the global health community on global health issues; it convenes stakeholders around key global health priorities and actively engages key decision makers to influence health policy. Learn more at www.globalhealth.org.

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